Colonial Secretary William Ormsby-Gore denied in the House of Commons today that the latest Palestine immigration schedule (totalling 770 certificates for four months) indicated a change in policy.
Also denying that there had been special instructions on fixing of the schedule, Mr. Ormsby-Gore expressed the opinion that the High Commissioner (Sir Arthur Wauchope) had “doubtless been guided by the usual criteria by which he assesses the economic absorptive capacity of Palestine.”
Replying to a query by Col. Josiah Wedgwood, Laborite, on whether restriction of immigration was merely persisting in a policy which the Colonial Secretary admits has failed, he said:
“No. It is the strict carrying out of conditions in the MacDonald letter of 1931 and the policy laid down by the Labor Government.” (The letter referred to, addressed to Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, modified the terms of the White Paper regulating immigration and employment of Jews in public works, which was issued in 1930 following an investigation of the 1929 Arab disorders.)
The Colonial Secretary made no reply to Col. Wedgwood when he asked:
“As the High Commissioner’s policy has failed, how much longer will this be continued?”
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